Students Get Hands-On with Screen Printing Thanks to PHMEF Grant

Thanks to a grant from the P-H-M Education Foundation, Digital Design students at Penn High School are getting real-world experience with the art of screen printing. This week, students in Ms. Alex Dunfee’s class completed the full, multi-step process and successfully printed their own custom T-shirts.

With support from the grant titled “You Can’t Swipe This Screen – Screen Printing Basics,” which awarded $3,373.58, students in grades 9–12 were able to dive into one of the most common methods used for printing on fabric.

The process began by applying a light-sensitive emulsion to the screen. Students created their designs in Photoshop, printed them onto transparent film, and placed them on the prepared screens.

Once exposed to light, the emulsion hardened—except where the design blocked the light. After rinsing the screen to wash out the unexposed emulsion, the final stencil was ready for printing.

With the screens prepped, students used them to apply ink to fabric and bring their designs to life on T-shirts.

This hands-on learning experience allowed students to combine creativity with technical skill, reinforcing principles of design while learning a practical production technique used in the industry.

Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for supporting innovative classroom opportunities like this one!

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